Vaccinium indutum

Scientific name: Vaccinium indutum Vid.

Family: Ericaceae

Local name: banuay (Bontoc)

Description: Shrub to 1.5 m tall. Leaves alternate,broadly ovate, apex acute, 6 to 8 cm long, 3.5 to 5 cm wide, with sunken, parallel veins. Inflorescence terminal; the corolla red, tubular, 1 to 1.5 cm long, with 5 shallow lobes, covered with fine hairs. Fruit a globose berry, crowned with calyx teeth.

Distribution: Luzon (Bontoc, Ifugao). Endemic.

Habitat: In thickets and inside of forests at altitudes above 1,500 m.

Economic uses: The red flowers are attractive and of ornamental value.

Conservation status: Data Deficient. The plant is confined to the high mountains in Bontoc and Ifugao but the exact range of the population is not yet established. A thorough survey is needed to establish its distribution. Based on information from the early literature the species is rare. 

Propagation: Vegetatively by stem cuttings and by seeds.

Conservation Notes: Habitat destruction is threat to this plant. The plant is not yet known in cultivation and it will not probably survive in gardens especially in the lowlands.

For further information write to: Domingo A. Madulid, Philippine National Museum, Botany Division, P. Burgos St., Manila. Tel. 5271218. Email: [email protected]